NFC is an acronym for Near Field Communication. NFC enables a communication between two objects, for instance between a mobile terminal and a base station that has been equipped with an integrated or an ad hoc antenna. NFC's specificity is that the communication is established over a distance of a few centimeters, or even with the two objects touching. This is the main difference with other wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that allow communication over a much larger distance.
Generally speaking NFC system comprises a terminal device or a tag, a base station, which many times is so called NFC reader for reading (and also writing in some cases) information from the terminal capable to NFC communication and/or NFC tag, and lot of back-end systems in order to provide information to be delivered, but also managing and controlling the data to be transferred as well as establishing secure paths for utilizing the NFC technique. It should also be mentioned that NFC communication is not limited to a pair of two devices, but merely the devices can talk with multiple other devices over the NFC technology.
The application areas of NFC technology are diversified. NFC technology as such serves in a very good way such areas in which contactless operation increases the speed of service, for example. Such areas of application are contactless tokens, ticketing and payments as well as pairing different devices for one reason or another.
In order to provide contactless NFC services to customers the network hierarchy is implemented so that there is so called Trusted Service Manager (TSM) to operate as an intermediary between NFC service providers and mobile telecom operators providing the networks for the end-customers. The TSM does not participate in actual transactions by NFC, but help service provider securely distribute and manage contactless services for the customers. In practice, the role of TSM is, among other things, to interconnect telecom operators and service providers, guarantee end-to-end security, maintain user related information, manage NFC services (e.g. activation/deactivation) and manage payment related issues. In this manner each party within the NFC system can concentrate to essential issues from their perspective. For example, the service providers have one-stop shop for establishing the NFC service when they have the service itself in place by using TSMs' services.
The drawback of the TSM implementation, especially in the payment area, is that as the TSM combines multiple different operators within the NFC area, there is lot of compatibility work to be done both at the operator and the TSM ends. Moreover, the same compatibility work shall be done between the service providers and the TSM. Thus, there is need to mitigate the compatibility work between different operators. The present invention relates especially to a mitigation of the compatibility issues within NFC solutions, especially within payment area.